#Warp Speed Officials Sa

[phroyd]

President Trump is so fixated on finding a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that in meetings about the U.S. pandemic response, little else captures his attention, according to administration officials.

Trump has pressed health officials to speed up the vaccine timeline and urged them to deliver one by the end of the year. He has peppered them with questions about the development status and mass-distribution plans. And, in recent days, he has told some advisers and aides that a vaccine may arrive by Nov. 1, which just happens to be two days before the presidential election.

Trump’s desire to deliver a vaccine — or at least convince the public that one is very near — by the time voters decide whether to elect him to a second term is in part a campaign gambit to improve his standing with an electorate that overwhelmingly disapproves of his management of the pandemic.

“We remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year and maybe even before November 1st,” Trump told reporters at a Friday news conference. “We think we can probably have it some time during the month of October.”

Trump has repeatedly offered similar promises, adding to the pressure scientists and officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health feel to develop, test and authorize a coronavirus vaccine on what some of the president’s aides refer to as “Trump time.”

Several Trump aides said one key to the president winning reelection is having a vaccine or demonstrating rapid progress toward one, as well as a robust economic turnaround, over the next two months.

Democratic strategists, too, said a vaccine announcement could play in Trump’s favor, but they cautioned that it is unlikely to significantly change the contours of the race.

“If they pull a vaccine out of their a-- it will be the October surprise of October surprises,” said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster. “I think you’ll see some of the angst lifting off of the American electorate. But I think it will be difficult connecting the dots to Donald Trump given where public perception of him is on covid, and given that this is a guy who a couple months ago said people should try to get sunshine and disinfectants inside of themselves.”

There is intense disagreement over whether the FDA should use its emergency authority to clear a vaccine before it is formally approved, which some in the scientific community say could be dangerous.

Top health officials, including FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have said a vaccine could be available before the end of the year. But they have been careful to qualify their statements and, unlike the president, have stopped short of promising one by then. White House officials also have been careful not to project a specific date for a vaccine announcement.

Fauci said in an email that “the most likely timetable for a vaccine to be utilized by the public” is November or December of this year or the beginning of 2021. He said it is “unlikely, although possible” that the efficacy and safety of a vaccine could be determined in October.

Asked about an emergency use authorization by the FDA, Fauci wrote, “If an EUA was granted before we had established that the vaccine was truly safe and effective, I would be disappointed. An EUA for a vaccine should be based on a considerable degree of safety and efficacy. . . . I would be against an EUA if it were issued without sufficient data to establish a strong signal of efficacy and safety.”

Other experts said it was unlikely that a vaccine would be ready by Election Day, but that Trump could be able to tout progress on it before people vote.

“Everything would have to be unfolding according to perfection,” said Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner in the Trump administration. “The vaccine would need to be highly effective, and you’d need to have trials ahead of schedule.”

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has accused Trump of putting “political considerations ahead of the safety and well-being of the American people with tragic results” throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The former vice president said in remarks Friday, “My guess is he is going to announce a vaccine, he’s going to say it’s going to be available around Election Day, he’s going to hype it.”

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden is eager for a swift vaccine, but not at the expense of safety.

“Joe Biden wants a safe vaccine ready yesterday,” Bates said in an email. “But there is no excuse for the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nation in the history of the world being the hardest-hit by this pandemic. The inescapable, tragic, infuriating reality is that Donald Trump has never taken the deadliest public health crisis in 100 years seriously.”

FDA officials both publicly and privately insisted that politics will not influence their decision on when to approve a vaccine. Current and former administration officials, as well as vaccine experts, said they were confident in the career regulators at FDA to make a science-based decision.

One former senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment, said the FDA’s leadership is “weak” and “fails to articulate that it’s going to stand for regulatory science.” But this official expressed confidence in the officials at the FDA’s office of vaccines.

“I know they take this responsibility very seriously and they understand what’s at stake,” this official said. “Without a clear blessing from this office, I don’t think Americans would be willing to be vaccinated.”

Underscoring the concerns about the vaccine process appearing political, the Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh was unwilling to discuss the politics of vaccine development or assess how a possible breakthrough could impact the campaign — even though Trump’s second-term agenda, distributed by the campaign, includes “Develop a Vaccine by The End of 2020.” Murtaugh deferred all questions on the matter to the White House.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews said in an email, “The rapid research, development, trials, and eventual distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine is emblematic of President Trump’s highest priority: the health and safety of the American people — it has nothing to do with politics. This President understands that this vaccine cannot get bogged down in government bureaucracy, which is why he has cut through every piece of red tape to achieve the fastest-ever launch of a trial.”

Inside the West Wing, there is some concern and nervousness about “potential politicization” and people not trusting a vaccine if they believed it was produced in a “rushed process,” according to a senior administration official, who like some others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

The administration has developed Operation Warp Speed, a process to mass distribute an eventual vaccine, and is planning a $150 million public service announcement campaign to convince people that the vaccine is safe, effective and can be trusted, this senior official said.

The communications strategy developed at the White House would limit Trump’s personal messaging about a vaccine — other than to “spike the football,” as the senior official put it — and instead be led by experts, including Fauci, Hahn, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, and Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed.

The White House plan would stress to the public that a vaccine went through the “traditional FDA rigor,” as well as seek validation from throughout the scientific community, in medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and from medical professionals with large media platforms, such as CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, according to the senior official.

The plan, according to a draft shared by the senior official, is to “replace distrust, disbelief, skepticism and cynicism with trust, credibility, confidence, certainty, transparency and optimism for COVID-19 medical countermeasures.”

Although the White House aims to depoliticize the vaccine rollout, the draft plan lists as one of its objective to “ensure the administration is able to receive due credit for undertaking this historic and unprecedented effort.”

Trump’s opponents are preparing for the president to try to mislead the public about the status of a vaccine in the run-up to the election, much as he has exaggerated many other aspects of his record over the years.

Rick Wilson, a strategist who helps run the Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans airing advertisements aimed at defeating him, said the group’s internal polling data suggests that many voters would not trust whatever breakthroughs Trump proclaims.

“We think Trump’s lying is priced-in with a lot of people,” Wilson said. “So if he could say tomorrow, ‘We’ve cured it, it’s done,’ many people, even some of his supporters, will say, ‘That’s just Donald being Donald.’ ”

Officials on the administration’s coronavirus task force said that a vaccine was not on the agenda in the early months of the outbreak. Vaccine developments are discussed in smaller groups or among the principals directly involved.

“We should have been talking about a vaccine instead of having weeks of discussions on masks, but they have caught up well now, it seems,” said one official familiar with the task force.

As part of the administration’s communications push, Slaoui and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar wrote an op-ed published Wednesday in USA Today describing how the United States was developing a vaccine at record speed with safeguards in place.

“The strategy we devised for OWS will allow us to accomplish this goal while following all the same procedures for safety and efficacy, applied by the same apolitical FDA experts, that Americans expect with all vaccines,” Azar and Slaoui wrote.

Experts warned that Trump’s promises that a vaccine would end the pandemic are dangerous.

“There’s this general feeling that the vaccine is going to get us out of this. There are so many people hanging everything on the hopes of a vaccine starting in January,” said Rochelle Walensky, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Getting out of this pandemic has to be a multipronged approach and no single thing is going to get us out. Certainly I don’t think a vaccine in the short-term is going to get us out.”

Trump’s repeated pressure on the FDA not only to approve a vaccine, but also to advance coronavirus treatments has undermined public confidence in the FDA, as well as in other federal agencies, according to medical professionals.

The FDA approved an emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine, an existing anti-malaria drug, to treat coronavirus, but had to eventually revoke the authorization because the drug was shown to be ineffective and cause heart problems in some patients.

Last month, Hahn and Azar appeared alongside Trump and hailed convalescent plasma as a “major therapeutic breakthrough��� despite the treatment being around for more than 100 years and having only a modest effect.

“I’d like to think at this point in the administration, when people see Donald Trump hyperbolize, they see it as hyperbole,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “That’s the problem. If President Trump stands up and says, ‘This is a major breakthrough, this is going to save all our lives,’ people can’t necessarily believe that.”

Phroyd

[winchesters-imagine]

Dean Winchester X Reader - Paradise

Request: hiya!! can you please do a Dean x reader request where Dean is caught by a djinn on a hunt and the reader goes to help him break out of his dream but his paradise is where you both have a normal family and it’s exactly the same as the paradise the reader has?? End w/ lots of fluff pls and thank you so much you talented toaster!

Word Count: 1.5k Warnings: angsty, sorta - not much, as much fluff as I could slide in, Djinns  Estimated Reading Time: 5 mins A/N: Thanks so much for requesting, my love! I had to tweak this a little bit, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

“When do you think he’ll be back?” You ask Sam, as he looks up from his book.

Dean had been mad about you going on a hunt alone, even though you were fine, and not telling him or Sam. He stormed out the Bunker ‘to blow off some steam’. With a machete. Yeah, it’s not hard to figure out how he decided to do so.

“Honestly? From five minutes to next week. He’s done this a few times before, and he’s always fine.” Sam tries to reassure you, though it sounds more like he’s convincing himself more than you. 

“Yeah...” You trail off uncertainly.

But after what seemed like hours of biting your finger, rereading the same meaningless words on the page over and over again, and tapping the wooden table in an irregular beat, you stand up with a huff, drawing Sam’s attention to you once again. 

“I’m going after him, bring him home, apologise, possibly make him a pie,” You ramble running a hand through your hair. “Can you start up his GPS?” 

Sam thinks for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing and then not. “Do you want me to come with you?” 

“It was because of me that he left, might as well bring him back,” You shrug with a light smile.

Sam tracks Dean’s phone on his laptop, but the puzzled expression that falls on his face concerns you. “What?”

“He’s in the middle of pretty much nowhere, not moving.”

Following the directions, you take a spare car from the Bunker’s garage and drive. Fast. Really testing the speed limit.

Of course, when you find the Impala pulled over, you breathe a sigh of relief, hoping that Dean is just sulking with Metallica on full blast. 

Not today.

You groan into your hands when you see that the car is empty, meaning that you have to haul your duffel bag through the trees and whatever kind of structure the unknown monster is residing in. You were not in the mood today.

So, you throw it over your shoulder and move on, seeing a house in ruins after about ten minutes of walking. You stand for a moment, not sure what you should take with you to be prepared. Instead, you shoot Sam a text asking what monster takes up residence in a ruined house.

His response was ‘Vengeful spirit, or a Djinn.’

If it was a Djinn, you might just scream into your pillow tonight. Still, can’t hurt to be prepared.

You take some lamb’s blood, a silver blade, and start looking for some salt rounds that could fit inside a pistol rather than a shotgun. While rustling through your bag, you also find some leftover African Dream root, from whenever you used it last. Did it have an expiry date at all? 

Might as well.

You aren’t sure how you’re going to carry everything, but after stuffing what you can into your waistband and pockets, all you have to carry is the dream root and a water bottle. As it was only sunset, you figured it would be best to leave the flashlight, get in and get out as fast as possible.

Making your way in, you listen out for anything that could give away the position of a Djinn. So far, nothing. 

Quietly as you can, you look through the downstairs kitchen, dining room, and living room, a chill making its way up your spine slowly. 

You pay extra attention on the stairs, as there could end up being that one super creaky one. Your jaw drops and your heart stops when you see Dean’s machete and duffel dropped carelessly on the landing, making your heart speed up again to put you on extra alert.  Ruins, hiding places everywhere. 

Maybe they’ve headed out for a party? 

Yeah, wishful thinking, Y/N.

You slowly turn into the first room on your right, heart in your mouth. Your stomach drops when you do see Dean, tied to a chair, knocked out.

Oh, did it feel good to be prepared.

“Dean? Hey, Dean?” You hold his head up in hopes that he could still be awake, but as you assumed, you probably needed to use the dream root. 

You mix some in the water, and pull out a strand or two of Dean’s hair, cringing as you did so. “Sorry, De.”

You look around the room for a safe place to hide, and find a small nook behind an old closet. Swallowing your disgust for dusty places strewn with cobwebs, you slide behind it and take a large mouthful of water.

When you regain consciousness, you find yourself in a normal master bedroom, with an almost golden tint to the air. You smell pancakes, causing you to make a beeline to the kitchen. 

Your heart skips a beat when you see him serving pancakes onto three plates, and you smile brightly. He seems so happy.

When he spots you, he jokingly looks you up and down to check you out, before his expression brightens even more, and you almost feel happy tears behind your eyes. You almost can’t bring yourself to ruin this for him, but if you don’t, he’ll die.

“Hi, honey,” Dean puts the pan onto the stove and wraps you into his arms. You laugh lightly, before - honey? Were you two married? 

You suddenly feel giddy - you and Dean weren’t an official thing, but - you wanted to be. So, so bad. And this is what it’d be like. 

You hug him back, and smile when you both pull away. The sparkle in his eyes, freckles dusted over his nose. You really did love him.

“Are you alright?” He asks, eyes showing concern.  “Yeah, yeah. I just need to tell you something,” You state, as a little girl stumbles into the room, giggling uncontrollably whilst clutching a worn out teddy bear.

“Daddy!” She squeals happily. Dean picks her up and swirls her around once before setting her on the table.  “How’s my princess?” He says in what you suppose is his ‘Dad’ voice, as your - daughter? - laughs when he boops her nose.

“Dean,” You sigh. The more time he spends here, the less he’d believe you about having to leave.

You pull him into the next room as your daughter eats her pancakes, taking a deep breath as you decide where to begin. 

“Have you heard from Sam lately?” You ask, immediately regretting it, as his face drops.  “Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t you remember that-” “Ohhhkay, I think I see where this is going.” 

Dean furrows his eyebrows.

“Do you remember when I was bored, and decided to go on that vampire hunt alone? You got really mad at me, remember? And you left the Bunker to calm down by killing some monster. Do you remember any of that?” You ask seriously. 

Recognition flashes behind his eyes, but it leaves as soon as it comes, and he shakes his head.

“What do you mean? We stopped that ever since Sa- We don’t hunt anymore, Y/N.” “Yes, we do, Dean. You, me, and Sammy. Us against the world with our angel best friend. Your best friend. Castiel?”

You can just tell that he’s on the edge, but what else could you possibly tell him?

“Right now, you’re in an old, ruined house. Mad at me for going on a hunt by myself, but when you did, you got hurt! A Djinn got you and I’m trying so, so, hard to bring you back, but you gotta listen to me! Okay? Please. Don’t you remember?” Your eyes tear up. You’re mad at yourself, at this situation, at the freaking Djinn itself. You just wanna go home.

“Yeah, I do.”

You breath a shaky, yet heavy sigh of relief through your tears, as Dean pulls you into his chest. “It’s kinda nice here, don’t you think?” 

You wipe away your tears and pull back. “It’s paradise. Our paradise. When we know that the world is safe and that we’ve done our jobs, I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life like this with you, Dean. But we gotta save the world first. How does that sound?” You’re aware that you’ve pretty much just asked him to be your boyfriend, but your fear of rejection logic was that you could say it was just in the dream.

“Sounds like a plan,” Dean places a soft kiss on your forehead. “How do I get outta here?” 

“You either will yourself to wake up... or if I recall, I think you have to-” “I remember now. Stay here. Close your eyes. When you wake up, it’ll be in the real world.” Dean turns back into the kitchen and you close your eyes, hearing Dean tell your ‘daughter’ to go upstairs followed by a knife being pulled from somewhere.

You wake up with a cough, back to reality, and recoiling at your dirty surroundings. You slide out and rush over to Dean, lifting his head up as you did before. But this time, his eyes open. 

“Hi, honey,” He jokes. You smile and slice the ropes on his forearms before standing up with him. 

“Okay. I’m going to kill this Djinn, and you are going to wait by Baby,” You smile, shoving your pistol into his hands.

“What, are you crazy?” “Maybe. But I know how to not get warped into fantasyland.” You quip.  “Oh yeah?”  “First one to kill the Djinn wins pie.” “Oh, you’re on.”

[harrelltut]

♀ My INNER… GOLDEN [DIVINE] Black Nocturnal Memory intEL [MELanin] BEE So Spiritually Alive [SA] when I lay Me [ME = U.S. Michael Harrell = TUT = JAH] down 2 Sleep [Die]… ‘cause I BEE Astral Travelin’ at Warp Speed 2 My Magical Egyptian [ME = U.S. Michael Harrell = TUT = JAH] ROMAN Empire YEAR of 5000 Somethin’ since I BEE So HIGHLY FUTURISTIC… ALL UP IN:side Mama’s Andromeda [MA] Galactic Light Atmosphere [L.A.] of SIRIUS Black Energy Spirit [BES = ORISHA] GODS from Cassiopeia Atlantis [CA] ♀

[truck-fump]

Senior <b>Trump</b> and Biden officials knew for months about problems at vaccine plant

New Post has been published on https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/06/emergent-biosolutions-coronavirus-vaccines-479447&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGjUzM2UwMTY5ZmFhZTIwMGQ6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNH4O9oKiNY-KLLX-hClqhnvFxKz8A

Senior Trump and Biden officials knew for months about problems at vaccine plant

Officials with the Trump administration’s vaccine program, Operation Warp Speed, and the Department of Health and Human Services were sent a report …

[willsherjohnkhan]

Vengeance Is Mine

Chapter 1: Shall We Begin...

***

Captain Kirk had ordered that the communication between himself and the unmarked Starfleet vessel be broadcast ship-wide…

*

USS ENTERPRISE – BRIDGE / VENGEANCE – BRIDGE

“Captain Kirk.”

“Admiral Marcus, I wasn’t expecting you. That’s some ship.”

“And I wasn’t expecting to get word that you’d taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders. Or did you forget that you were directed to find him and take him out? The orders I gave you were simple and straightforward, so what went wrong?”

“The unexpected happened, sir. Not something to be dismissed lightly, when one considers our present location. We had to improvise when we experienced a warp core malfunction… But you already knew that, didn’t you, sir.”

“I don’t take your meaning.”

“Well that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To assist us with repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally bring a ship to the edge of the Neutral Zone?”

“Captain, they’re scanning our ship.”

“Did you hear that, Admiral? Having a quiet look around? Something I can help you find, sir?”

*

Throughout the ship its crew listened intently. What had originally sounded like a rescue mission had very quickly turned ominous.

*

USS ENTERPRISE – BRIDGE / VENGEANCE – BRIDGE

“Where’s your prisoner, Kirk? Tell me where you’re holding Harrison, and drop your shields so we can beam him over. I’m superseding your authority as of now.”

“No need for that, sir. As the captor of record, it’s my duty and responsibility to maintain control of the prisoner until he can be turned over to the appropriate authorities, all as per Starfleet regulations. The fact that I’m familiar with his crimes changes nothing. I’m preparing to return Khan to Earth for trial, sir… I would hope we can proceed with your understanding. I assure you that the prisoner is being well looked after and is completely under our control… We didn’t even have to fire so much as a single one of the ‘new’ torpedoes at him.”

“Well, shit. You talked to him. That was exactly what I was hoping to spare you from.”

“Spare me?”

*

The mood throughout the ship became increasingly unsettled as Marcus’ description of John Harrison / Khan went from ‘prisoner’, to ‘criminal’, to ‘war-lord’, to ‘creature’ as he desperately attempted to justify the need to cover up his actions since awakening Khan, blackmailing him into using his advanced intellect to develop weapons for Section 31.

*

USS ENTERPRISE – BRIDGE / VENGEANCE – BRIDGE

“I’ll have the entire incident expunged from the official records, and Khan and his crew will be disposed of quietly, no-one needs to know… Now I’m asking you, give him to me so I can end what I started.”

“He’s in Engineering, sir, under heavy guard awaiting continued questioning. But I’ll have him moved to the transporter room right away.”

“Thank you, son. I’ll take it from here.”

And the transmission ended.

Immediately after the Enterprise went to warp.

*

USS ENTERPRISE – MEDICAL BAY

The man to whom the conversation had revolved appeared oblivious to the commotion around him.

He sat on the bio-bed, back ramrod straight, with his hands manacled, surrounded by guards who never took their eyes off him. Khan sat quietly, his expression blank, deep in thought and gazing at nothing in particular.

If he were honest with himself, Dr. McCoy found Khan’s lack of response a little unnerving.

Bones studied the man before him, and he wondered to himself, ‘if you peeled back the layers of personality, of emotion, what might one find? A murderous maniac or a man wronged by not one but two societies his own of three centuries ago, and today’s as represented by Alexander Marcus?’

“Well at least we’re moving again,” McCoy pointed out conversationally as he passed a tri-corder over the prisoners face.

From where he was seated, Khan lifted his gaze to meet that of the doctor. “If you think you’re cleanly away, if you think you’re safe at warp – you’re wrong.”

McCoy just grunted at the prisoners reply. However, when moments later the Enterprise was struck by a phaser blast strong enough to knock them out of warp, leaving the ship adrift, like a sitting duck, at the mercy of the far larger and more heavily armoured Vengeance. The doctor was forced to concede the truth of Khan’s statement.

Not that Khan cared.

At that moment his attention was focussed on the reactions of the crew to their current situation, and most particularly that of the security detail assigned to watch him. As concern turned to panic, his patience was rewarded when even the most hardened individuals, like those who guarded him wavered, if only for a moment.

But that was all Khan needed.

In the blink of an eye he went from coolly disinterested prisoner to a determined fighting machine, using a combination of speed, strength and skill that guaranteed his security detail never knew what hit them. A single blow with his manacled wrists knocked Hendorff out cold. Before the others could react Khan had overpowered them with a series of precisely-timed blows: a squeeze to the neck, a twist of an arm, and a slam to the side of the head to render them equally unconscious. Before tossing their limp bodies as though they weighed nothing, to the floor, against a wall, or into any unfortunate medical staff who happened to be in the way.

*

It was at that very moment that Ensign Molly Hooper chose to enter the Medical Bay. Whatever had brought her there was instantly forgotten as she witnessed the carnage Khan was inflicting. But in the time it took her to enter, see what was going on and make the decision to leave, Khan had removed the heavy-duty handcuffs, acquired a weapon, and taken her hostage.

*

Only a few futile attempts were made to intercept them however, as the Enterprise was currently under attack. Admiral Marcus having decided to destroy all evidence of his misdeeds in one foul swoop. So with everyone more concerned with there own survival, resistance to Khan’s escape plan was minimal.

Khan held Molly securely, his arm wrapped around her waist, her back plastered to his chest as he moved quickly and confidently through the ship. His superior reflexes guaranteeing he stayed upright as the Enterprise continued to be bombarded by the Vengeance’s impressive weapons array.

Molly did her best to escape the clutches of the incredibly good-looking, yet frightening man who held her. But Khan brought her feeble attempts to an end, with the quick application of pressure to her neck. As her body slumped, Khan easily caught her before slinging her over his broad shoulder.

He then continued to his destination.

*

USS ENTERPRISE – ENGINEERING

With everyone in engineering focussed on trying to get the warp drive up and running, no one paid Khan any attention.

Through the unchecked conversations he’d overheard while in the ship’s brig, Khan learned that Chief Engineer Scott had found his portable trans-warp-beaming device, and had very conveniently brought it with him onto the Enterprise.

After a quick search Khan found where it had been stored. And then with lightening fast speed he’d re-set the transport co-ordinates.

Moments later he and Molly disappeared off the Enterprise…

***

VENGEANCE - BRIDGE

… To re-materialise on the bridge of the Vengeance.

Whatever confidence Alexander Marcus was feeling immediately evaporated when Khan materialised on the bridge.

After depositing the unconscious Molly to the floor, Khan, with military efficiency and extreme prejudice used his enhanced abilities to deal with the mercenaries that made up the Vengeance’s minimal crew.

The only sounds on the bridge were the snapping of bones, followed by the ominous thud of dead bodies hitting the deck.

The speed with which the feat was achieved was simply mind blowing, and it left the admiral in a state of stunned horror as he observed the bodies that littered the pristine bridge.

As Khan stormed towards his nemeses, Marcus, realising the danger he was in made to get up, but Khan was on him before he could get to his feet.

Trapped within the confines of the Captain’s chair there was no-where for the admiral to go, Khan had him well and truly cornered. Before Marcus could open his mouth to bargain for his life, Khan had taken hold of the admiral’s head in both his hands and began to squeeze.

Over the admiral’s screams and the sound of cracking bones, Khan told him. “You should have let me sleep.”

But Marcus could make not reply. Nor would he ever do so again.

Tossing the admiral’s body to the floor, Khan took his place in the Captain’s chair. With a flick of the controls on the chairs armrest, he soon had communications open with the badly damaged Enterprise.

***

VENGEANCE – BRIDGE / USS ENTERPRISE – BRIDGE

“I’ll make my demands very simple, Captain. Give me my crew.”

Kirk and Spock exchanged a look.

“That’s, going to be a problem,” Kirk responded.

Khan used his instruments to scan the Enterprise.

“Your transporters are down,” he noted. “Fortunately that’s not a problem, as mine are fully functional.”

Another look was exchanged between Captain and First officer.

“That’s not the only problem.”

“This meaningless banter is pointless,” Khan stated, becoming clearly annoyed. “Give me my crew.”

“We can’t,” Kirk replied through gritted teeth.

Something about the captain’s expression left the augment uneasy.

“Where are my crew, Kirk?”

Spock stepped up next to his captain. “After we removed your crew from the torpedoes, their cryotubes were moved to the cargo bay…”

“Which sustained a direct hit,” Kirk finished.

“You’re lying,” Khan snarled.

“Your ships instruments are fully functioning, check for yourself,” Kirk advised.

As Khan scanned the Enterprise his anger faded and for a brief moment was replaced by grief, as the Vengeance’s instruments confirmed what Kirk had told him. The telltale signatures that represented the 72 members of his crew no longer existed.

They were gone.

He had fought so hard to be reunited with his crew, his family, only to fail…

“I am sorry,” Kirk said with genuine regret.

But Kirk’s sympathy only reignited Khan’s loathing for Starfleet, and everything it represented.

***

VENGEANCE – BRIDGE

Khan had designed the dreadnaught-class warship to be fully automated so that a minimal crew could man it, one if necessary. It was bigger, faster and more heavily armed than any ship currently in service at Starfleet.

Its firepower was further enhanced when Khan imputed the co-ordinates into the warship’s military-grade transporter system, and began retrieving the 72 torpedoes from the Enterprise’s to the Vengeance’s torpedo bay.

Then without further delay he gave the order. “Computer, arm torpedoes.”

“Torpedoes armed.” Vengeance’s computer immediately responded.

Before he could complete his order, a desperate, frightened voice called out. “You can’t!”

Molly had regained consciousness in time to witness Admiral Marcus’ demise. She remained where she was, observing the confrontation between Khan and the Enterprise. But when she realised his intention, she knew she could no longer remain a bystander.

Khan turned his head and coolly observed the young woman he had made his prisoner. “And why is that?”

***

Chapter 2: A Moment Suspended In Time

***

VENGEANCE – BRIDGE

“Well...” Molly began, her explanation abruptly interrupted when with lightening speed Khan moved. One moment he was seated in the Captain’s Chair and the next he was looming over her, the epitome of an avenging angel, dark, menacing and brooding. Driven with a determination to cause as much death and destruction as possible.

And given the number of dead bodies that littered the bridge he’d made a more than reasonable start.

But the wanton loss of life, the memory of Admiral Marcus’ tortured screams, even the threat to the Enterprise and her crew were temporarily forgotten as the young ensign gazed up at her abductor, the man formally known as Commander John Harrison.

Apart from his fringe that had fallen rather endearingly into his aqua coloured eyes, he was all alpha male. A warrior, trained to fight and to kill whenever he felt himself trapped or under threat. The incredibly well-toned body: broad chest and shoulders, impressive biceps, rigidly inflexible abs, long elegant fingers that extended from hands capable of squeezing the very life from those he proclaimed his enemy. Even his muscles as they flexed impatiently, straining to break free from the tight-fitting off-duty undershirt he wore. Not to mention the narrow hips, powerful thighs and legs that seemed to go on forever encased within the equally snug-fitting trousers that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Everything from head to toe loudly proclaimed him a primordial, potent and predatory male

When her gaze once again became a captive to his now piercing steel-coloured eyes, Molly had the uncomfortable feeling that he had the ability to see right through her. That he could so easily strip her of all her defences, laying her wayward thoughts completely bare.

*

Khan watched the young ensign in cool amusement, well aware of the affect he was having on her. He had observed that same reaction he could see so clearly reflected in her eyes more times than he cared to count, both in his own time and that of the alien future he now found himself.

The difference now was that her reaction wasn’t based on any intention to align herself with him to gain power or political advantage. She had no idea who he really was, nor what he had been and what that had meant in his time.

She was reacting purely on instinct, completely incapable from hiding how she felt from him. Her body almost vibrating with expectation as it sensed the irresistible pull of his carnal masculinity that called to her, urging her to surrender. The delicate flush to her cheeks, the escalation of her breathing and the dilation of her pupils all told him exactly what she wanted.

And he was not the least averse to exploiting those needs for his own purposes.

Yes, he nodded to himself. Here was an opportunity. He would have her, would enjoy taking his pleasure as he took his fill of her, but only for as long as he had need of her. Then he would discard her, as he had with all the others.

*

His ability to seduce her without saying a word had made Khan supremely confident that the young ensign would now willingly do his bidding, and so he allowed a self-satisfied smirk to settle on his plump cupids-bow lips.

This was a mistake.

As soon as Molly’s subconscious registered the cruel twist to his sensuous lips, it snapped her out of the hypnotic spell he had cast over her.

No longer blind to his intention to manipulate her, Molly’s response was instantaneous.

The stinging sensation as her delicate hand made contact with his finely chiselled cheekbone was completely unexpected. His shocked expression filled Molly with immense satisfaction at the knowledge that he had not seen it coming.

Looking down at the young woman before him, Khan realised how clearly he had underestimated her. Small she may be, but there was a fierce determination to her that he had arrogantly overlooked, preferring to lump her in the same category as every other woman he had ever known.

Rubbing his injured cheek he took careful inventory of the woman before him.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about her appearance. She was small, around 5”4’. Her eyes and her hair, pulled back in a practicable ponytail were brown in colour. She reminded him of a sparrow, simple, plain and common, but endearing.

That analogy unexpectedly sparked a range of conflicting emotions within the augment.

Before when he had wanted to take, it had only been to use her. Now he was overpowered by something far stronger

Khan’s gaze hungrily took in her dainty features. His eyes travelled slowly over her petite figure as his thoughts became more predatory, which was matched by the smile that now graced his lips.

She was nothing like what usually attracted him to a woman. But something about her called to a part of him that he’d only allowed those he’d just lost to reside. Her goodness, her kind heart and her innocence were having a disturbing affect on him.

He felt an unexpected need to protect her.

Confused by these unexpected and contradictory feelings, Khan used them to refuel his rage over what Alexander Marcus had done to him. And so he rounded on her, declaring between clenched teeth as he pointed towards the view-screen, where the Enterprises Command Crew were still visible. “Your Commanders have committed a crime I cannot forgive.”

His loathing of Starfleet and everything it stood for was plain to see. And yet Molly could see through his intense anger, to the pain and the sense of loss he was feeling, and her heart broke for him.

She didn’t know the full story, but from the little she’d heard from the ship-wide broadcast the admiral had clearly gone against much of what Starfleet stood for, and had been prepared to go to murderous lengths to cover his tracks. She didn’t know how, but she knew she had to make Khan understand that one man’s actions did not represent the organisation as a whole.

With quiet determination Molly stepped towards him, so that they were once again toe to toe. She looked up into his stormy eyes and noted calmly. “Except they didn’t”

Khan raised an elegant eyebrow “Really?” came back his cool response. “I beg to differ.”

***

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